Last Frontier Heliskiing is a backcountry heliskiing destination located in the Skeena Mountains and Coast Mountains of Northern British Columbia. Founded in 1996,[1] Last Frontier Heliskiing operates out of two locations: Bell 2 Lodge[2] on the Stewart-Cassiar Highway in Bell II, and the Ripley Creek Inn,[3] in Stewart. Last Frontier Heliskiing is a heliskiing operator within the province of British Columbia[4] (List of heli-skiing operators in B.C.) with access to 10,100 square kilometres (3,900 sq mi) of skiable terrain.[5]
| Last Frontier Heliskiing | |
|---|---|
| Location | Northern British Columbia |
| Nearest major city | Smithers |
| Skiable area | 10,100 km2 (3,900 sq mi) |
| Trails | 800 |
| Snowfall | 25 metres per year (82 ft/a) |
| Website | Last Frontier Heliskiing |
Company history
editErnie Kreese built the original building foundations of the Bell 2 Crossing in 1979 as a basic gas station and garage.[6] Bell 2 Lodge is located at the second bridge crossing over the Bell-Irving River on the Stewart-Cassiar Highway, one of the two main highways linking British Columbia and Alaska. Later, a small restaurant and multiple cabins were added to the facility. In 1994, the founding partners of Last Frontier Heliskiing, George Rosset, Franz Fux, Mike Watling and Geoff Straight discovered Bell 2. They set on to explore the Skeena mountains surrounding Bell 2 to evaluate the potential for a new heliskiing destination. Satisfied with their find, they decided in 1996 to put the location to trial with an 8 weeks initial heliskiing program out of Bell 2 Lodge, using a single A-star helicopter. The film crew of Teton Gravity Research took this opportunity to explore this yet unmediated mountainous part of the world, which they initially captured in their movie 'Re-Session'.[7] What once was a rustic and remote gas station became a heliski village since the purchase of Bell 2 lodge in 1996. Renovations between 1998 and 2003 occurred and lead to a full rebuilt and modernization of the lodge facilities.[8]
Following the success of Bell 2 Lodge, The lead guides from Last Frontier Heliskiing George Feitzinger and Andre Ike explored the south of the tenure with the aim of establishing a whole new heliskiing zone deep into the coast mountains. Their findings lead to the establishment of a new heliskiing destination in 2005, the Ripley Creek Inn, located in Stewart.[9]
The Lodges
editBell 2 Lodge is located 340 kilometres (210 mi) northwest of Terrace in the locality of Bell II;[10] the resort is situated along the Stewart-Cassiar Highway at the second crossing of the Bell-Irving River.[11] The Ripley Creek Inn is located 310 kilometres (190 mi) northwest of Terrace in the town of Stewart,[12] 3 km (2 mi) away from Hyder, Alaska.[13]
Mountain Safety
editLast Frontier Heliskiing is a member of HeliCat Canada, an association seeking operating standards with regards to safety, risk management and sustainability within the heli and catskiing industry.[14] All the guides at Last Frontier Heliskiing are ACMG or UIAGM certified mountain guides.[15] Since 2008, Last Frontier Heliskiing has established mandatory for all guests and guides to wear an ABS Airbag pack[16] in the mountains for avalanche safety reasons. The skiing guests and guides are all equipped with Avalanche transceivers, Avalanche airbags, shovels, and probes.
Wildlife Preservation & Scientific Contributions
editSince 2007, Last Frontier Heliskiing has taken active participation in scientific studies lead on the behavior of wild Mountain goats in order to analyze the impact and potential harm of helicopter operations happening within the goats’ natural habitat.[17] General guidelines with regards to restricted and sensitive zones [18] have been established as a response to these studies, in order to avoid causing any disturbances on endangered wildlife species with heliskiing activities.
Professional Athletes
editLast Frontier Heliskiing has hosted many well-known skiing and snowboarding professionals over the years.
Athletes
edit- Callum Pettit (2009)
- Cody Townsend (2012)[1]
- Craig Kelly (1998)[19]
- Christopher Rubens (2012)[2]
- Dana Flahr (2009)
- Erik Jackson (2013)[20]
- Jake Blauvelt (2012, 2013)[21]
- Josh Daiek (2015)[22]
- Kazuhiro Kokubo[21]
- Kye Petersen (2009)[23]
- Lynsey Dyer (2015)[24]
- Mark McMorris (2015)
- Mikkel Bang (2015)
- Nicolas Muller (2015)
- Seth Morrison (2009, 2010, 2012)[23][25][7]
- Tanner Hall (2002, 2009)[26]
References
edit- ^ Guided Adventure Tourism Management, Tenure Application Plan
- ^ "Bell 2 Lodge, Along the Stewart Cassiar Hwy, BC - in Northwestern BC". www.bell2lodge.com. Retrieved 2015-09-23.
- ^ "Ripley Creek Inn". www.ripleycreekinn.com. Retrieved 2015-09-23.
- ^ "Heli- and Cat-skiing in BC | Super, Natural BC".
- ^ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2016-11-08. Retrieved 2015-09-29.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link) - ^ "About".
- ^ a b "Re:Session - A Film by Teton Gravity Research".
- ^ "Adventure on the BC Alaska Border". www.eaheliskiing.com. 16 October 2013. Retrieved 2015-09-23.
- ^ "Heli-Skiing & Cat-Skiing | Stewart, BC | Tourism BC - Official Site". www.hellobc.com. Archived from the original on 2012-06-08.
- ^ "Terrace-Bell II" (Map). Google Maps. Retrieved July 10, 2020.
- ^ "Stewart Cassiar Highway, Bell 2 Mezianin". www.stewartcassiarhighway.com. Retrieved 2015-09-23.
- ^ "Terrace-Stewart" (Map). Google Maps. Retrieved July 10, 2020.
- ^ "Folks living in this tiny outpost on the Alaskan border may use Canadian dollars, but they're still '100% American'". Retrieved 2015-09-23.
- ^ "Helicopter Members".
- ^ "Heliski Guides BC, Canada | Heli Skiing Guiding Canada". www.lastfrontierheli.com. Retrieved 2015-09-23.
- ^ "ABS-Airbag.de • ABS - Avalanche Airbag". www.abs-airbag.com. Archived from the original on 2014-02-13.
- ^ Cadsand, Becky (2012). "Responses of Mountain Goats to Heliskiing Activity" (PDF). University of Northern British Columbia. unbc. Retrieved 2015-09-23.
- ^ "Last Frontier Heliskiing". www.wilderness-tourism.bc.ca. Retrieved 2015-09-23.
- ^ "Snowboarder Magazine | Snowboarding Videos, Photos and More".
- ^ "Check In: Jake Blauvelt (1st part)". Red Bull. 2016-08-02. Retrieved 2024-06-14.
- ^ a b "NameBright - Coming Soon".
- ^ "Last Frontier Heliskiing - Season Highlights". 23 April 2015.
- ^ a b "Last Frontier Heliskiing: Seth, Kye, and Dana".
- ^ "Best in black and white action photography".
- ^ "Ripping Ripley Creek". 9 March 2010.
- ^ "The Last Frontier". 2 December 2002.